Fox News' Shannon Bream relied on a hate group's unsubstantiated talking points to stoke fears that churches could lose their tax exempt status if a Supreme Court ruling finds that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. Bream has repeatedly relied on rhetoric from discredited anti-LGBT groups to peddle bogus and misleading information about issues related to LGBT equality.
On the May 6 edition of America's Newsroom, Fox News' Supreme Court correspondent Shannon Bream highlighted an exchange during oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that will determine the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage. During the exchange, Justice Samuel Alito asked U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli whether religious colleges would be able to keep their tax-exempt status if the bans are found unconstitutional and they continue to oppose same-sex marriage. Verrilli said although he didn't know all the specifics, "It's certainly going to be an issue":
The Fox News segment included an appearance by Travis Weber, a spokesman for the anti-LGBT "hate group," Family Research Council (FRC), who conflated the legal standing of religious colleges with that of churches, and suggested that churches could face "fines, potentially imprisonment" if the Court strikes down the bans and they refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.
The following day, Bream posted an article on FoxNews.com that cited Weber's claim about churches losing their tax-exempt status, and bizarrely quoted unrelated comments Hillary Clinton made at the 2015 Women in the World summit -- about the need for more laws around the world that prohibit domestic violence against women and allow girls to attend secondary school -- to suggest that the U.S. government might decide to use its "significant leverage to coerce others to adhere to any specific viewpoint."
The right-wing myth that churches might lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage has been dismissed as "a scare tactic, plain and simple" by legal experts. As Caroline Mala Corbin, a legal expert on the First Amendment at the University of Miami School of Law, explained:
Given that churches have long been able to discriminate against women without losing their tax exempt status, it seems highly unlikely that they risk losing their tax-exempt status because they discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.given the racial and bigoted teachings of evangelical teachings why are they given tax free status in the first place is this the real religious freedom they speak of if so than it does not benefit the people it makes those in charge richer, acknowledging others rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness does not impact their lives but they impact those they oppose's lives by their bigotry and hate agenda against them. my point we should pass laws the exclude hate churches from benefiting from their attacks and misinformed or should i say misleading libel they should be tried in court for just that libel.
tax exemption has rules can anyone say with all honesty the evangelical establishments don't adhere to the law?
Substantial Lobbying Activity
In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify
for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activitiesis attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as
lobbying). An IRC section 501(c)(3) organization may engage
in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of
tax-exempt status.
Political Campaign Activity
Under the Internal Revenue Code, all IRC section 501(c)(3)
organizations, including churches and religious organizations,
are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating
in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or
in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
Contributions to political campaign funds or public statementshttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf
of position (verbal or written) made by or on behalf of the
organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for
public office clearly violate the prohibition against political
campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in
denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition
of certain excise tax.
are they not the republican choice of religions influence and do they not support those candidates and why haven't we heard anything in reference to their tax status especially since that support comes with all the hyperbole and discrimination and vitriol the right wing and republicans spew everyday??? maybe they should loose their tax status if they continue promoting the uglinest that has nthing to do with God, Jesus or the Bible except the usurping of it's words to fit their bigoted agenda.
